The Prairie Cartel live
The Prairie Cartel
Debonair Social Club, Chicago
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
When it comes to electro-clash, or any variation of elctro that even flirts with the rock genre, one of the most prevalent — and offsetting — aspects of the movement is the inescapable over-reliance on irony and flash over content or substance. And forget about a message or any deeper meaning. More often than not you’re lucky if you get more than four phrases repeated over a repetitive four-minute dosage of neon and indifference.
Which is why the electro-rock outfit The Prairie Cartel excel while so many other electro-based groups just pose. The band don’t treat rock like a four-letter word, and are unabashed in their incorporation of jagged riffs, vocal harmonies, and even honest-to-goodness choruses into their repertoire.
Of course, this should come as no surprise when you consider the source. Consisting of Local H frontman/brain Scott Lucas, as well as the Caviar-based duo of Blake Smith and Mike Willison, The Prairie Cartel have little use for ironic overtones or vacantly fashionable stances. Instead, the project comes off as both a natural next step from both camps involved, and a surprising left-field venture that has taken their shows’ witnesses by surprise. As much was apparent at Wicker Park’s Debonair Social Club last week Tuesday when the group played a 45-minute set against a neon wall display that changed shades of red and purple as the night went on. It would come to serve as the night’s only unnatural neon and flash.
Individual songs’ tones varied throughout the set, partially on whether Lucas or Smith was leading the assault. Whereas Smith-fronted songs favored melody, not unlike in Caviar, Lucas numbers were heavy on shouted-choruses and tortured howls. Such was the case on “Suitcase Pimp,” which flirts with a detached air throughout its verses but quickly gives way to intense chorus and refrain of “I’ll be your suitcase pimp!” Likewise, “Everybody Warm,” in spite of its repetitious nature and dub undertones, is unabashedly rock, especially as it builds.
The true potential of The Prairie Cartel, however, was realized in two very different songs. “Cracktown,” a name-check of many of Uptown’s various streets and avenues, is easily the catchiest and most upbeat effort to come from The Prairie Cartel’s output so far, even going so far as to end with repeated and infective “doo doo-doo doo-doo doo”‘s. The Smith-led “No Light” is a slower and more menacing affair, with a more suggestive and seductive approach. Both songs rival the best output from either the Local H or the Caviar camps, and live are especially engaging.
It’s unclear what the future hold for The Prairie Cartel. It’s unlikely they’ll ever eclipse the heights Local H and Caviar have each reached. Than again, a few years back an electro-punk hybrid of Local H and Caviar would’ve sounded fairly unlikely. Thankfully, it’s safe to assume the camp most likely have more surprises in store, whatever names they choose to use.
— Jaime de’Medici
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
